National Republican., 1887-06-06
LESSON FROM THE TEMPEST
DIR. TALMAGE's DISCOURSE ON THE
STORM ON GAIILEE.
When People Start TO Follow Christ
They Must Not Expect Smooth Sail
ipg-Storms Will Come hut Christ
VIII Bid Them Be still.

iDR-Storms VIII Come hut Christ
VIII Bid Them 10 still.
BRooKLYY, June 5.-The Rev T. De Witt
Talmage, d. d., preached IN the Tabernacle
thlsmorning sermon entitled "The Tempest"
Service began with the exposition of appro-
pirate passages of Scripture, after which the
great congregation sang the bymn-
Heaven is my fatherland,
Heaven is my home"
The text was Mark iv, $780, describing
Christ stillipg the tempest. He said:
Tiberias, Galilee, Gennesaret- names
for the same lake. No other gem ever had so
beautiful setting. II lay In scene Of great
raced, sloped, groved, so many hanging gar
dens Of beauty, the waters rumbling down be-
tween rocks OF gray and red limestone, fash
ing from the hills aud bounding into the sea.
on the shore were castles armed towers,
Roman baths, everything attractive and beau
tful; all styles OF vegetation In shorter space
than in almost any other space In all the
world, from the palm tree Of the forest to the
tree of rigorous climate.
1t seemed as If the Lord had launched one
wave of beauty on all the scene, and IL hung
and swung nom rock and hill and oleander.
Roman gentlemen in pleasure boats sailing the
lake, and countrymen In bshsmacks coming
a5 s5 neT easa oaT T1 1
at their moorings. o, what wonderful, what
q beautiful lake
II seems as IL we shall have quiet night.
Not O leaf winkedin the air; not n ripple dis
turbed the face Of Gennesaret; but there seems
TO be a little excitement up the beach, and we
hasten to see what II Is, and we find 1t an en-
From the western shore ilotilla pushing
out; not q squadron, or deadly armament, nor
clipper with valuable merchandise, nor piratic
seize; but ilolilla bearing messengers OF
life, and light and peace. Christ Is In the
front OF the boat His disciples are In a
smaller S9ss ,esds gesry with 3 pass nue.
lence by the rocking Of the waves. II there
was any motion at oil the ship was easily
or rns 10 the
boat would rock, and by the gentleness of the
motion putting the Master TO sleep. And they
extemporized pillow made out Of fisher
mans coat. think no sooner Is Christ pros
trate, and His head touched the pillow, than
He Is sound asleep. The breezes Of the lake
run their fingers through the locks of the worn
sleeper, and the boat rises and falls like q
sleeping child on the bosom Of a sleeping
Calm night, starry night, beautiful night.
the large he small boat sde
gentle Gennesaret But the sailors say there
is going to be change OF weather. And even
the passengers can hear the moaning of the
storm, as 1t comes on with great stride, and
all the terrors of hurricane and darkness.
The large boat trembles like n deer at bay
among the clangor Of the. hounds; great
patches of foam are flung Into the air; the
sails OF the vessel loosen, and the sharp Winds
crack like pistols: the smaller boats like petrels
poise on The cliff of the waves and then
plunge.
Overheard go cargo tackling and masts, and
tue drenched disciples rush into the back part
of the boat and lay hold of Christ and say unto
Him Master carest Thou Tho , not that that &weperishY
pillow of the fishermans coat, walks to tho
front of the vessel. and looks out into the
storm. All around Him are the smaller boats,
driven In the tempest, and through y comes
the cry of drowning men. By the flash OF the
lightning / see the calm brow OF Christ as the
spray dropped from His beard. He has one
Looking upward He cries: ..Peace" Looking
downward He says" Be STILL"
The waves fall fiat on their faces, the foam
melts, the extinguished stars relight their
torches. The tempest falls dead, and Christ
stands with His feet on tho neck Of the storm.
And while the sailors are bailing out the boats,
whe So thy ARE ryngs tE unangs the
now looking into the calm sea, then into the
calm sky, then into the calm Saviour's counte.
nance, and they cry out. what manner OF
man man Is 18th this that even the winds and the sea
The subject in the first place impresses me
with the fact that 1t Is very. important TO have
| have gone to the bottom of Gennesaret II Christ
had not been present. oh, what lesson for
| you and for me to learn We must always
nave CDrlbt III inc tnlTs NnutcVcr NOyhHc We
| let us always have Christ in the ship. Many Of
you In these days of revived commerce are
starting out In 06oS new ohos aanoai a
| can do. Do 1t on as high plane as possible
You have no right to be u stoker in the ship II
you can be an admiral of the navy. You have
no right to be colonel of n regiment If you
| can command a brigade. You have no right
| to be engineer Of boat on river banks or near
the coast ifyou can take the ocean steamer
| with utmost tension Of body, mind, and soul
| you arc bound 10 do; but, oh have Christ In
every enterprise, Christ in every voyage, Christ
In every ship.
There are men here who ask God to help
them at the start of great enterprises. He has
been with them In the past; no trouble can
| overthrow them; the storms might come down
| fiom the Mount Hermon, aud lash Gennesaret
into foam and into agony, but 1t could not huri
| them,
But here is another man who starts out In
wS of hs 5 eo Ge Gfhnss has mo- pSSo pSod
help him. After while the storm comes and
tosses of the masts of the ship. Heputs out hi:
lifeboat and the longboat. The sheriff and the
| help him off He must go down. No Christ in
the ship. Here are young men Just starting
ont in is' Your life VIII be made uPof sun
blasts Sasts u or 1 troposi tornadoes @ ' Know arGs ao
what is before you, but know II you have
Christ with you all shall be we'll.
| :, You may seem to get along without the re-
| ligion of Christ while everything goes smoothly
but after .whilc, when sorrow. hoyers ovei
the soul, when the waves Of trial dash cleai
| over the hurricane deck, and the decks are
would do then Without Christ in the ship
| Young man, take God for your portion, Goo
for your guide, God for your help; then AL 4
ever. Blessed is that man who puts in the
| Lord his trust He shall never be confounded
But my subject also impIesses me with the
they must not expect smooth sailing: -
have no doubt they said: what a beautiful
day this isI What q smooth seal What bright
boatl and as for the waves under the keel
| OF the boat why, they only make the mo-
ti9pp p, of our our little boat the more more delight;
down, and the sea was tossed into wrath, then
| they found that following Christ was moi
smooth sailing. So you have found II; go
the lie Of The apostles Of Jesus Christ S' You S
| would say If ever men ought to have had q
smooth liie,;a smooth departure, then those
men, the disciples, of Jesus Christ, ought
| st. James lost his head: 81. Philip was hung
to death on q pillar; st. Matthew had his life
dashed out with halbert; ST. Mark was
the Less was beaten to death with fuller's
club; ST. Thomas was struck through with q
spear, They did not find following Chris
| smOOln halllnB. On, now tney were all tossed IN
| the tempest, John Huss in the fire; Hugh
McKail In the hour OF martyrdom; the Albi
| gentes, the Waldenses, the Scotch CovenanterS
did they find 1t smooth sailing2
But why go into history when can come
| into this audience to-day aud find a score OF
| illustrations of the trnth Of this subject That
young man in the store trying TO serve God
while his employer SCOTS at Christianity, the
| young men In the same store antagonistic 10
| tho Christian religion teasing him, tormenting
| They succeed in getting him mad saying
| "Eou're pretty Christian" Does this young
| man find 1t smooth sailing when he tries to
| follow Christ? Here Is a Christian girl. Her
| father despises the Christian religion: her
mother despises the Christian religioni her